Chapter 864 - 72: Then Let’s Turn the World Upside Down!

Gu Hui put down the document in his hand, raised his head, and his gaze was calm yet profound as a deep abyss. He did not directly answer Yue Fei’s question but instead asked, "Pengju, what do you think constitutes a golden age?"

Without waiting for Yue Fei to answer, he asked and answered himself, his voice steady and powerful: "Is it when the treasury is full, and people don’t pick up lost items on the road?"

"Or is it when all nations come to pay tribute, and the territory spans ten thousand miles?"

"These are certainly signs of a prosperous era, but they are not the root of prosperity."

"Throughout history, so-called prosperous times are nothing more than the result of a wise ruler and virtuous ministers momentarily suppressing land annexation, easing conflicts between officials and the people, allowing the world to gasp for decades."

"Yet, the root cause remains unchanged!"

"Power still rests in the hands of a few, the rise and fall depend on the wisdom or folly of one person."

"When the monarch grows old, a treacherous minister takes hold, or a mediocre successor inherits, all accumulated problems will rebound with even greater intensity in a cycle that repeats over and over!"

His tone grew increasingly passionate, carrying a chill that pierced through history: "Such a golden age is nothing more than an ephemeral illusion!"

"It is a structure built upon sand dunes!"

"If what my Gu Clan ancestors, including you, Yue Pengju, have fought for ultimately results in nothing but this, it only postpones the next collapse."

"Is this where your and my aspirations lie?"

Yue Fei was greatly shaken, Gu Hui’s words were like a heavy hammer, shattering certain preconceived notions in his heart.

"From the Two Han’s selection of officials by recommendation to the Yan Han’s gradual rise of the imperial examination... Pengju, do you see the thread within?"

He did not need Yue Fei to answer and continued narrating smoothly: "The recommendation system of the Two Han placed power in the hands of local scholars and noble families. The so-called ’recommendation without knowledge of writing; recommending filial piety without separation from fathers,’ left barely any ladder for outstanding talents from humble backgrounds to climb."

"The fault in this system was that the aristocracy solidified power, blocking upward mobility."

"Why did the imperial examination replace recommendations?"

"Precisely because it, to some extent, broke the bounds of status, making it possible for a commoner to rise to the emperor’s hall in one day!"

"That was a true dismantling of the old and establishment of the new!"

"It expanded the base for selecting scholars, allowing our dynasty to gain countless talented individuals from humble beginnings, resulting in a flourishing cultural governance!"

His tone carried admiration for the wisdom of the ancestors, but it soon turned to a deeper scrutiny: "However, the imperial examination has been in practice for several centuries."

"It was indeed a good law with fine intentions when founded."

"But now?"

"The exam content has rigidified, devolving into a study of memorization and ornamented rhetoric; the power of selecting officials, seemingly in the emperor’s hand, is actually still inevitably influenced and infiltrated by court factions and local powers."

"More critically—"

Gu Hui’s voice suddenly intensified, his gaze sharply fixating on Yue Fei: "Even if the imperial exams select a few capable ministers and officials, what they can do is still only patch repairs within a framework."

"This framework is that all land under heaven is the king’s; all subjects on the land are the king’s servants!"

"It means that all power ultimately belongs to one person!"

"It means that the chronic problem of land annexation recurs in a cycle due to power and interest connections, impossible to eradicate!"

"Pengju," he leaned slightly forward, his words like a heavy hammer striking at Yue Fei’s heart, "institutions are not immutable!"

"Recommendation was replaced by the imperial exam because it was no longer suitable for the times, it had become an obstacle!"

"Now, the imperial exam and the entire system it sustains, after hundreds of years, have lost their vitality, their flaws are becoming more apparent, and it is like an elderly man stumbling, no longer able to bear this increasingly complex world!"

"History has come to this point," Gu Hui’s voice carried a sense of decisive declaration, "just as the imperial exam was needed to replace recommendation in the past, now it’s time to dismantle the old and establish new again!"

"What we need to find is a way out of this millennia-old cycle, a system that truly constrains power, allows the will of the people to manifest, and fundamentally curtails cyclic turmoil!"

The two of them were thoroughly direct, without any superfluous words.

"You ask what kind of new heaven I wish to establish?"

Gu Hui took a deep breath and stared intently at Yue Fei: "The glorious era I seek is not the permanent security of one family name, nor the temporary peace and prosperity of a time or place."

"What I wish to establish is a world where law is above authority!"

"A world where even without wise rulers and virtuous ministers, the system itself can maintain a semblance of fairness, curb the powerful, and allow the common people to secure their lives through their efforts!"

"It is to break the cycle of order and disorder over millennia!"

"It is to ensure this Kyushu land no longer tumbles into turmoil due to imperial machinations or court factions!"

As he spoke, Gu Hui also handed the prepared materials to Yue Fei.

These materials embodied the various systems he envisioned.

Yue Fei’s expression became extraordinarily complex as he slowly read them, his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

It was not out of fear.

But because all this was too astounding for anyone.

Even considering his prior suspicions, otherwise, Yue Fei would have surely been stunned!

Limit imperial power!

Just these four words alone convey a lot.

This runs completely counter to the millennial ethos of loyalty to the emperor in Kyushu!

Gu Hui said nothing, merely silently awaited Yue Fei’s response.

In such matters, one must make their own decision.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to wait so long for Yue Fei.

The entire tent suddenly fell silent, even the sound of wind and snow outside ceased at this moment.

Yue Fei’s expressions kept shifting.

It went on for a long time like this.

Only then did he slowly lay down the weighty paper in his hand, his movements very slow, as if putting down the entire world he had held onto for decades.

Indeed, for Yue Fei, it was the whole world.

All that he knew, all he upheld, was this not indeed the entire world?

Yet, Yue Fei did not exhibit much despondency.

—This is the impact of Gu’s School.

It allowed Yue Fei to accept the reality before him because, in his view, what Gu Hui said actually made sense.

—Isn’t this Great Song not already glorious enough?

Throughout history, Yue Fei couldn’t find an existence comparable to the current strength of the Great Song.

The prosperity of canal and maritime transport,

the advent of corn.

All this transformed the entire Great Song thoroughly.

And for such a strong Great Song to have come to this state in just a few decades.

Isn’t this the validation of Gu Hui’s statements?

Even Gu Yi was somewhat surprised by this, for from a macro perspective, with the foundation laid by the Gu Clan for the Great Song, no matter what, the Great Song shouldn’t have turned out this way in such a short time.

But upon close observation, he found various reasons.

Simply put, the constant leap in productivity accelerated the pace of oppression, which led to this current state.

From a different perspective.

Kyushu today indeed needs innovation!

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everything Gu Hui did was right, just that the current systems certainly no longer suit all of Kyushu!

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Yue Fei’s mind.

He recalled the hardships along the way, detailed the self at Julu Academy who aspired to save the world, and remembered those endless debates in the court.

In the end, only the snow and wind of the Northern Border remained, along with an ideal that never extinguished.

He wanted to save the world.

To let the entire Kyushu be stable once more!

With these thoughts, his gaze gradually firmed, staring blankly at Gu Hui. Without even asking how Gu Hui would accomplish it, he directly bowed seriously to Gu Hui, without any superfluous words, simply stating:

"Then let’s overturn the world!"...

....

(Ps: Begging for monthly votes, I earnestly ask for your support, greatly appreciates it.)